Judith
Scott -- renowned for her fiber art sculptures
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Rona Marech, Chronicle Staff Writer
Judith Scott, a self-taught
Ms. Scott's sculptures, noted for their elemental quality, bursts of color and singular forms, have been shown in galleries and museums around the world, and sell for as much as $10,000.
In a review of Ms. Scott's first
A book about Ms. Scott's work, "Metamorphosis: The Fiber Art of Judith
Scott" by John M. MacGregor was published in 1999, and several
documentaries about her life and art were in the works when she died. A few
pieces of Ms. Scott's work are currently on display in a show at Yerba Buena
Center for the Arts in
Ms. Scott, who was deaf and mute, was sent away from her
Then in 1985, Ms. Scott's twin sister, who had been too young to understand
when her twin disappeared from her life, had a sudden realization at a
meditation retreat. She found Ms. Scott and brought her to
Joyce Scott enrolled her sister at
For almost two years, Ms. Scott showed up regularly at the studio but failed to make a single piece of work other than aimless scribblings. The organization was evaluating whether the studio was the right place for her when Ms. Scott picked up some sticks and yarn one day, said Tom di Maria, the Creative Growth executive director. The staff watched excitedly as Ms. Scott wrapped her first sculpture.
It was nonstop after that, di Maria said Thursday.
Five days a week for 20 years, Scott left her group home in
She used yarn, cardboard, foam, bits of fabric, wood scraps and a range of
objects that caught her eye from an old fan to bike parts, coat hangers, a
skateboard, a computer screen. As she worked, often for months on a single
piece, the found items would slowly disappear behind layers of colorful
tapestry. A documentary film crew from
"She had a compelling sense of color, form and tension in the work. The surface is beautiful, and there's also this unanswered question of what's inside this piece and where did it come from?" di Maria said. "Was she communicating? Was she object-making? Was she making art? Was she telling a story? I think the answer was probably all of those and more.
"I believe that the sculptures she created are essentially evidence of her process and evidence of who she is. They're her stories tied and untied. I think she was unspooling her life history before us. I think she was trying to convey her sense of confinement, then freedom," he said. "I think she was also trying to mark her place in the world: This is what I do, this is who I am, this is my contribution. I think most artists strive for that."
At Creative Growth, students made an impromptu altar this week, at the table where Ms. Scott sat at for 20 years. They left flowers, cards, magazines, books -- items that Ms. Scott might have picked up and woven into her latest piece if she were still there.
In addition to her sister, Ms. Scott is survived by her mother, Lillian
Smith, and her brothers, Richard and Jim Scott, all of